Sunday, 30 November
2008
Channel
27: "Live"
Man
City v
Man
Utd - 9:30 pm
Manchester City may have succeeded in getting under Sir
Alex Ferguson's skin with some of their grand statements since
becoming flush with Arab wealth this season, but, to judge from his
comments yesterday, the Manchester United manager views them as an
irritation rather than a threat.
Holding court at United's training ground yesterday afternoon,
Ferguson said that City's newfound riches had brought a “different
focus” on Sunday's derby match at the City of Manchester Stadium,
but he was for once looking through the eyes of the media rather
than his preferred red-tinted glasses. From United's perspective,
City may have won the past two derby meetings, may have been bought
out by the the fabulously wealthy Abu Dhabi United Group and may,
in Robinho, have a superstar to rival Cristiano Ronaldo, but they
remain the same old City until such time as they prove
otherwise.
When questioned about the growing “threat” of City, Ferguson
could barely keep a straight face. “Excuse me, where are they at
the moment?” he asked rhetorically, knowing that they lie eleventh
in the Barclays Premier League, three points clear of the
relegation zone. “At this moment in time, our threats are still
Chelsea and Liverpool, who are sitting above us.”
Mark Hughes, the City manager would concur that his team
are not yet in a position to threaten the established order of
Manchester football, let alone world football, but he and the
club's new owners are adamant that this will change.
City are confident of signing Lassana Diarra, the Portsmouth
midfield player, and Roque Santa Cruz, the Blackburn Rovers
forward, in January and have also made the first moves towards a
highly ambitious bid to lure Gianluigi Buffon, arguably the world's
finest goalkeeper, from Juventus. Such signings, albeit at
exorbitant prices, would be expected to take City to another level,
but Ferguson, ever willing to dish out friendly advice to the
neighbours, warned them that there could be no such guarantees.
What Mark does with the money at City is for the future. I don't
think January is ever the best time to buy players.”
A third successive Premier League title is threatening to be a
tall order for United, who trail Chelsea and Liverpool by eight
points, albeit having played a game fewer, but Ferguson said that
“the second half of the season promises to be much better for us”,
with Paul Scholes hoping to return to action next week, having
recovered from knee surgery.
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